Brigadier Simon Mukwevho was appointed as station commissioner at the Thohoyandou Police to lead the fight against crime in the area. He officially took over the reins on 1 December.
The Thohoyandou Police Station was recently placed among the top-30 police stations in the country with the highest reported cases of domestic violence and housebreakings.
Mukwevho has 32 years' experience in the police service under his belt. He had previously served as unit commander of the K9 unit in Thohoyandou, head of the K9 unit in Vhembe and he was in charge of the flying squad and 10111 unit. Some of his other positions included head of Thohoyandou's task team and unit commander at the Polokwane International Airport. On top of that, he served as coordinator of the visible-policing unit in the Makhado cluster, and he had also been deployed to stabilise identified criminal hotspots in Seshego and Ritavi.
He said that the Thohoyandou police seemed to be working hard, but that room for improvement existed. "Lazy or corrupt policemen will be dealt with internally," he said.
Mukwevho said he had an open-door policy regarding complaints, and through this he wanted to establish and maintain a lasting relationship with the community he served. "By cleaning house, we will gain the community's trust and so change the picture," he said.
Mukwevho acknowledged the alarming increase in violent crimes such as rape and robbery in the area and gave his assurance that these would be dealt with. He said he would continue to strengthen the cooperation between the community and the police in the fight against crime. "We are constantly working on strategies to address the crime in the area. It is only [by working] together that crime will be rooted out."
The provincial police commissioner, Lt-Gen Thembi Hadebe, wished Mukwevho well in his new role and applauded him for always having the mind of a senior who was always ready to fill the gap without even questioning who had opened it and why.